Mysterious are the Metal Gods’ Ways… - 90%

This talented, but very short-lived, Dutch outfit started with an excellent demo of classic technical thrash/death metal which crossed later-period Death with the more thrash-prone works from the Old Continent like Invocator’s “Excursion Demise” and Agretator’s “Delusions”. A promising beginning by all means which unfortunately failed to see an immediate follow-up for whatever reasons…

The year now is 2009, and the band have finally found the time, or probably the means, to shoot their one and only official release. The piece of news, that can be either good or not so good depending on the taste, is that the overall delivery has shifted towards death metal almost exclusively, the band raging hard by retaining all the technical flourishes from the demo. And they have no second thoughts subjecting the listener to their more brutal agenda with the opening “No Second Thoughts”, a ruinous shredder of Suffocation-esque proportions with a pleiad of time and tempo changes, the not very expressive guttural death metal vocalist trying to find his way amongst these vitriolic, hyper-active rifforamas which also receive a delightful psychedelic comeuppance. There’s no letting up later although the title-track tries to mislead with a quiet spacey, bass-induced intro, but the infernal cannonades resume with all the vigour imaginable as there’s no speed lost on this aggressive roller-coaster which is also boosted by numerous short blast-beating escapades.

“Those Are the Ones” ties knots that would be hard to untie even by wizards like Martyr and Theory in Practice; intricate speedy “skirmishes” fly from all sides their stride frequently interrupted by the mentioned blasting strokes, the latter not given too many chances on “Be the Seeker” which is carved by gorgeous memorable melodic hooks ala Quo Vadis and Neuraxis on top of the super-technical, very dynamic soundscapes. “Re-Connect” indulges in virtuous staccato rhythms also bringing back the brutal blasts which regular application may come as too much for some. “Blocked” is an exemplary technical shredder the band leaving their hearts and hands here with some of the finest riff-puzzles this side of Psycroptic’s “The Sceptre of the Ancients” and Martyr’s “Warp Zone”; no blasts here, just alluring mid to up-tempo layouts with several infectious melodies added for good measure. With “Earth Tones” the guys pay their tribute to the Swedish melo-death school for the production of the most linear, most derivative number, but “Moral Perception” technicalizes, also brutalizes, the environment to the max with maddening speedy complex crescendos which reach a dizzying fever pitch towards the end. “Time for All to See” is close to being the highlight the band perplexing the listener with a vast array of time-signatures served within a short span of time, with spasmodic blasts taking turns with technical staccato sweeps this delectable “serenade” finished in an appropriate downbeat, doomy fashion.

Despite the delay witnessed in releasing this album, the band had kind of hit the right time with it as both Pestilence and Asphyx struck with their comeback opuses the same year, with Gorefest having reformed a few years prior as well, and there was also a small, but steady technical death metal scene stirring with a couple of gifted newcomers (Arsebreed, Fondlecorpse, I Chaos, etc.) having showed up at around the same time. The guys could have led (definitely not astray) this group in the new millennium towards greater heights probably, but the wagon had to carry on without them…

Well, not exactly; some of the band members joined Deleterious (earlier known as INRI), an outfit specializing in a progressive, slightly avant-garde form of black/death metal, and have contributed some more (two EP’s released so far) to the always full of pleasant surprises Dutch technical/progressive metal scene. Will they find their way back to the previous configuration? Why not; mysterious are the metal gods’ ways, no one can foresee which direction their will might swing…